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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23688388">Lucky Spy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forever_Cynical/pseuds/BadBatch'>BadBatch (Forever_Cynical)</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yennefer_Maleficent_Black/pseuds/Yennefer_Maleficent_Black'>Yennefer_Maleficent_Black</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/F, Happy Ending, Stregobor as Dumbledore, Vilgefortz as Voldemort, much angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:08:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,394</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23688388</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forever_Cynical/pseuds/BadBatch, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yennefer_Maleficent_Black/pseuds/Yennefer_Maleficent_Black</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Fringilla is of the firm opinion that she is Vilgefortz' daughter and tries to get Yennefer, a former death eater, on her side. Will Tissaia save her, of is all hope lost?<br/>An alternative to unlucky spy. Just as heartbreaking, but with a better ending.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sabrina Glevissig/Triss Merigold, Tissaia de Vries/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Lucky Spy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yanana/gifts">Yanana</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: None of the Characters belong to me and I am not making any profit off of this.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Don’t fret, Yennefer, I have the answers. I see your pain, but you needn’t suffer anymore,” the dark-skinned woman whispered seductively. Fringilla had sent her a letter, demanding a meeting. Fool that she was, she met her in the shrieking shack, in the middle of the night with no backup at all.</p><p>If she was in any situation to actually care about what happened to herself, she would be worried about this situation, but she wasn’t. There were various reasons for that, of course, the most important one being Tissaia, as always. In one way or another, it all came down to Tissaia, every time.</p><p>Her life had nothing left to give, so she had no reason not to hear Fringilla out. Especially since she knew that Sabrina was talking to her, too. It’s what had Triss, her best friend and co-worker, so worried these last few weeks. Not that she could do anything against Sabrina joining her.</p><p>Fringilla did make a rather compelling case for herself, too. Being the lost daughter of the Dark Lord himself, only revealing herself seventeen years later was something nobody would have expected. Yennefer herself had taught the girl in Defense Against the Dark Arts and hadn’t suspected a thing. Then again, she hadn’t paid the girl much attention, as she had been charming enough.</p><p>Just as charming as she was now. The raven-haired witch didn’t know how she knew, but she promised her a life without hurt. A life without distrust and rejection. In other words, she offered her something she hadn’t had since the Dark Lord had been defeated nearly twenty years ago.</p><p>Twenty years she had struggled to earn people’s trust. Now she felt empty, too tired to go on the way she was. She had fought enough, in her opinion. First the trial, then most of Hogwarts’ staff and student, and she was still nowhere near done fighting for some damn recognition for the fact that she hadn’t done a bad thing ever since the war ended.</p><p>Way before that, actually. Her heart had been her undoing, as it usually was the case. All is fair in love and war, but the two don’t mix well. Somebody should’ve told Yennefer that when she joined the death eaters, watching as Tissaia joined Stregobor in his dumb pursuit for equality. There could never be equality for all, somebody would always lose.</p><p>At some point, towards the end of the war, she had realised Vilgefortz’s plans regarding Tissaia and her stomach had turned several times. So much actually that she had a hard time keeping the dinner down that he had invited her to that particular evening. It had been her breaking point, the point at which she knew she couldn’t stand behind a man who planned to either enslave or kill the love of her life.</p><p>The most logical thing at the time had been to go to Stregobor and warn him, offer her services. And what good use he made of that. Every detail that she could share, every battle strategy she warned him about. All of it was helpful in some way or another.</p><p>In the end, when all was over, it was what saved Yennefer from going to Azkaban. Many had died, including Tissaia’s friend, Margarita Laux-Antille. Seeing Tissaia hurt and mourn her friend, even though she hid it well, tore at her own heart. Her heart which she had long since believed dead.</p><p>Tissaia and Yennefer had gone to Hogwarts together. In different houses, obviously, and never quite friends. They always saw each other as rivals, having to be better than the other. It was in Yennefer’s blood as a Slytherin, the ambition driving her to antagonize the girl she secretly admired but never found the courage to ask her out.</p><p>And, as a Ravenclaw, Tissaia just couldn’t accept being inferior to the girl, not in anything. That became particularly interesting in DADA, as it was Yennefer’s natural talent. Actually, her talents were more in the Dark Arts themselves, but she never showed that in school. She was not a dimwit, after all.</p><p>It was her cunning that saved her from saying anything stupid on the stand with Tissaia watching from the crowd. She knew the woman was there as Stregobor made her case for her, persuading the head of the court that she should be pardoned, as she had a key role in ending the war.</p><p>The distrust rolled off the audience in waves back then, from every single one of them, except for Tissaia. Fool that she was, she had believed to have a chance then. Not seeing disgust in the brunette’s blue eyes had given her false hope.</p><p>False hope she had held onto for years. When the Ministry gave her a chance to work for her forgiveness, they had given her an option: Paperwork at the Ministry itself or teaching DADA, the supposedly cursed position, at Hogwarts. She had chosen the latter, thinking she could make an actual difference.</p><p>And she had, for many students so far. After changing professors each year, none of them were particularly good at the subject. Yennefer had seen it and changed it. Under her, the students actually had a clue as to what was going on, how to properly defend themselves, even if they had been wary of her at first.</p><p>It had felt good, making a difference, even if only for a while. But that wore off. Years went by and she slowly proved herself to many people. Stregobor had been the first to trust her, and many others had followed. Most of the students she taught these days weren’t even aware of her history, which was refreshing, and her co-workers had accepted her.</p><p>But it wasn’t quite the same. Even though they accepted her, they never quite understood her. Not that anybody tried, anybody but Triss. The herbology teacher was as kind as ever and had easily forgiven her for being on the wrong side of things. The two of them had been like sisters growing up in Hogwarts.</p><p>The worst thing, though, was Tissaia. As much as she had been giving her hope in the beginning, she was now her downfall. Everyone else was warming to her, even if not fully, but she stayed cold.</p><p>No matter what Yennefer had tried, the woman was as cold as ice towards her. When she asked her to dance at any given ball at Hogwarts, the woman declined. When she sat next to her at any meal, even if only by chance, the woman would not speak to her. She had tried talking to her when meeting in the hallway but was always met with some half-hearted excuse as to why Tissaia needed to get going.</p><p>It was tiring, truly. But most of all, it was hurtful. Yennefer just didn’t understand what she had to do in order to win the woman over. Just because they had never been too close didn’t mean they couldn’t be. Even Triss had no explanation left to offer when the issue came up.</p><p>The issue came up quite often, too, seeing as Triss was the only person who would really talk to her, aside from Sabrina. But Sabrina was… more closed off than most of the people she knew. It was actually no wonder that she would consider going with Fringilla’s ideals.</p><p>Truth be told, Yennefer would only be in it for the recognition of her talents and some acceptance. She saw that Fringilla was delusional, and Vilgefortz being her father was more than unlikely but Yennefer would not argue with her.</p><p>Looking around, she noticed that Fringilla had actually left her to her thoughts. There was a note next to her telling her where the dark witch could be found, and that she would come to check on her again in a week’s time.</p><p>With a deep sigh, the raven-haired woman got up and made her decision. She would follow the delusional woman, work with her towards her goals just to see her fail eventually. After all the seemingly wasted years, she couldn’t bring herself to care about her own future anymore.</p><p>Staying at Hogwarts wouldn’t get her anywhere, it would be pointless. Her position was clearly not cursed anymore and there were other, also competent teachers out there who could replace her.</p><p>If Tissaia wasn’t going to accept her either way, she might as well leave. Keeping her hopes up and imagining having a chance with the brunette wouldn’t help anybody, so she might as well leave and make sure that she wasn’t the target of yet another maniac.</p><p>Mind set to her new goal, she made her way up to the headmaster’s office. Knowing that the man had a way of just being aware of things, she thought it best to let him in on her plan. After what had happened the last time she offered services as a spy, she was confident that he had no objections.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Her talk with the headmaster had gone about as good as can be expected. He wasn’t particularly thrilled to have her wander off in the middle of the night, but he’d rather have someone on the inside he trusts than be blind to the situation. He had always been a bloody control freak.</p><p>Yennefer didn’t really need the man’s permission, of course. Her ten years of mandatory teaching at Hogwarts were long over, and she had only stayed because, really, what better did she have to do with her time?</p><p>The disadvantage of having gone to see Stregobor was that, on her way to her chambers, she had run into Triss. Whatever the woman had been searching near her chambers, she had found something else entirely.</p><p>She hadn’t liked it, either. As her best friend, she had tried to keep her at Hogwarts, talk her out of joining Fringilla. That Yennefer had only told her that because she genuinely cared about the woman was not important to her.</p><p>For a while, they had argued, back and forth about how she should really not join another dark person on their way to madness and self-destruction. Triss had cried over the prospect of losing her friend again, she had pleaded with Yennefer, telling her that she was better than that.</p><p>In the end, the raven-haired woman had simply brushed past her, having tired of her best friend’s tears. Not only that, but she was also tired of how easily she believed her to truly be back on that dark path again. Once a villain, always a villain, and she had thought the Hufflepuff was better than that. She probably was, she was just not showing it this particular evening.</p><p>While she packed her bag, Yennefer felt fury course through her veins. Nothing she did was ever good enough, nobody ever saw anything good in her. She was of the firm opinion to be totally right about that. And who could blame her, with that background?</p><p>At least her path out of Hogwarts was free, she thought as she made her way towards Hogsmead. Or so she thought until she turned a corner and almost ran into Tissaia. It was dark, and the lanterns standing off at the side of the snowed-in path did not spend all that much light, but Yennefer would never mistake the other woman.</p><p>The brunette’s glare was even harder than usual, and she was trembling despite the thick coat she was wearing. Slowly, the small woman stepped closer, taking in Yennefer’s appearance. Her eyes stayed on the obviously stuffed bag for a moment before they closed.</p><p>Tissaia briefly hid her face behind her hands before slowly looking up again, gazing pleadingly into Yennefer’s violet eyes. In the lowest, softest way possible, she whimpered, “please tell me this isn’t true. Tell me Triss misunderstood.”</p><p>Her demeanour shook Yennefer to her core. A soft approach was the last thing she had expected of the other professor. Soft was not a word she would’ve associated her with over the past years, not when it came to interacting with her. Something was not right about this.</p><p>Letting her bag fall to the ground, she crossed her arms, right hand carefully fumbling her wand hidden in her ripped sleeve. Slipping on her coldest mask possible, she hissed at the other woman in her path, “what is it to you? It’s not like you were overly fond of me the last few years. What’s it to you if you lose a colleague whose entire existence you ignore on a daily basis?”</p><p>The slap Tissaia placed on her cheek resounded through the night. Fires of fury danced within blue depths as the woman calmly said, “don’t you dare put this on me. I’m not the reason you’re throwing your life away, Yennefer. And for what? For power? The illusion of respect that really is nothing but fear?”</p><p>Not letting the words get to her, the witch let out a cackle, trying to make Tissaia see that she was beyond help, even if she had to act that part. Coldly, she threw in Tissaia’s face how she hadn’t exactly made her stay either. That the illusion of respect was better for her than the blatant absence of it that she was confronted with on a daily basis.      </p><p>Yennefer dropped her arms as she picked up her bag with a silent spell, trying to brush past the smaller woman much like she had done with Triss earlier. Except the woman didn’t let her. She might be small, but the fierceness with which she planted herself in Yennefer’s way was astounding.</p><p>“I might not have given you a good reason to stay until now, but I won’t give you up so easily. I will fight for you, even if I have to stand in your way for it,” the brunette voiced with conviction. She sounded so sure of herself, so determined while also being careful not to, what? Scare her off? Unlikely. And yet it was there.</p><p>The woman never made much sense to Yennefer, that’s what had drawn her in in the first place. Made her fall in love with the woman and never get over her. She would do anything for her if she asked, which was exactly why she had to leave sooner rather than later.</p><p>Rigorously, she pushed past the woman, making her fall to the ground in shock at the force Yennefer used. She could’ve sworn she heard a small yelp from where she had fallen to the ground, but she forced herself not to look around.</p><p>Concentrating on what Fringilla had said earlier, she saw how much sense it made. The dark witch had pointed out how Tissaia seemingly only stepped in when there was something she wanted from Yennefer. It was as though she was manipulating her, and Yennefer could no longer argue with that logic. </p><p>Vaguely she sensed the other woman getting up behind her, and she felt the stunner coming her way more than she saw it. Without turning around, she whipped out her wand and threw up a shield around her.</p><p>The fact that she had just been attacked made her angrier than she already was, and it was hard for her to control her emotions on a good day already. Whirling around, she fumed at the other woman, asking her how she dared think that a simple stunner could ever work on her.</p><p>The two of them were a few steps apart now, and yet she could still see the pleading look in Tissaia’s eyes. Almost too quiet to hear, the other woman whispered, “please, I just want you to stay. I’m… I know I made mistakes but please, don’t join Fringilla in her madness.”</p><p>Timidly, Tissaia made to step closer to Yennefer again. Out of reflex, the other woman sent a stinging hex in her direction, making it hit a mere inch from her foot on the ground. Swallowing visibly, Tissaia eyed the woman in front of her, trying to see if she can figure out how much danger she really posed.</p><p>She knew damn well Yennefer was a born fighter, that she ran on instincts, and yet she stepped closer yet again. This time, the stinging hex actually hit her. It was a warning not to come closer, not to agitate her, because Yennefer was very much capable of anything.</p><p>Taking a deep breath to recover from the unpleasant sensation, she looked directly into Yennefer’s eyes. With her hands raised, she said in a louder voice than before, “Yennefer, please listen to me. Don’t throw your life away. The Ministry pardoned you once, there is no way they will do it twice.”</p><p>Instead of flinging another hex at her, the raven-haired beauty hissed, inquiring what it was to her. She did not see how it affected the brunette after she had ignored her for years. What was the future of her life to someone who obviously couldn’t care less?</p><p>“I care! I do care! I can’t stand here and watch you throw your life away-“ “You only say that because you’re afraid I will be an asset to Fringilla, you’re afraid of losing!” Yennefer saw how Tissaia flinched when she cut her off, clearly not used to being treated like that. She made no comment about it, however. Instead, she countered, “of course you’d be an asset to her! You’re an asset to us, too, can’t you see that? Me getting in your way would only have prevented you from doing good!”</p><p>This time, her manic cackle was very much real. Her former classmate and colleague was very much aware that this was her way of screaming ‘bullshit’ at her, but she diligently ignored it. Tissaia didn’t let that irritate her, though she should have, for the next step she took earned her a slicing hex.</p><p>Wincing at the cut on her right upper arm, she closed her eyes to catch her bearings once more. Seemingly more determined than ever, she looked back at Yennefer with new vigor in her eyes. Slowly but deliberately she threw away her wand, calling, “I won’t fight you, Yen. I refuse to hurt you any more than I already have. Yes, Yen, I know I hurt you. It’s not something I wanted, but I did it and for that I am sorry. Please, forgive me.”</p><p>Suddenly, a silvery voice echoed in Yennefer’s head, pointing out that Tissaia only knew lies. The voice of a woman, as Yennefer noted, was telling her to be wary, that she only wanted to keep her from greatness. It tried convincing her to rid herself of this woman that tormented her very existence.</p><p>It didn’t take Yennefer long to figure out that someone had somehow broken through her mental shields. That was supposed to be impossible, seeing as even the Dark Lord hadn’t managed to do so by the end of the wizarding war.</p><p>The rage had blinded her so much that her mental shields had gone down considerably, and if she didn’t get them back up she didn’t know what would happen, didn’t know what the voice would convince her to do. She also knew that Tissaia was making her weak. The emotions the woman invoked in her, they were breaking down every barrier she had. She knew if she didn’t move away, the woman in front of her would cause her to stay, preventing her from going on her mission.</p><p>She was distracted for all but five seconds, but that was enough for her to slip up, badly. While she had tried to shake the invading person from her mind, she had gone into automated fight mode, which did not distinguish between friend or foe.</p><p>This meant that, when Tissaia had taken another step towards her, she had not thought about which spell she cast. She had not even noticed it until it was too late, and she was not entirely sure why it took her so long to notice.</p><p>Tissaia had been entirely unprepared for what hit her, and therefore it hit so much harder than it should have. When Yennefer finally shut her mental shields again, the piercing scream entered her conscience, and she turned her gaze to Tissaia, who was on her knees, with actual tears streaming down her face. Normally when Yennefer hit people with the cruciatus curse, though, they weren’t able to form intelligible words.</p><p>“YENNEFEEER!” The sound of her cry, full of desperation and pleading, let Yennefer’s blood freeze over in her veins. She let up at once, freeing her from the curse and was almost rushing over when Triss appeared from behind the tree line.</p><p>Stopping abruptly, staring like a deer caught in headlights, Yennefer was carefully observing the situation. Her cold mask was in place again after having temporarily fallen due to the shock of the realisation of her action. After how Triss had reacted to her decision to leave, she didn’t want to make her situation worse by making a wrong move.</p><p>“Tissaia? Tissaia!” Triss’ voice was filled with a feeling of urgency she always had when worrying about one of her friends. The woman with the usually warm eyes dropped to her knees next to Tissaia, grabbing her wand from somewhere behind her and gathered the wheezing woman up into her arms.</p><p>Tears spilt from the chocolate brown eyes as she whispered soothingly to Tissaia, ignoring the hand that tried swatting her away. Her head whipped around and she stared at Yennefer when the woman grew impatient and actually dared to move. Yennefer’s heart shattered into a million pieces when Triss whispered in a broken voice, “and? Are you going to hurt me too, Yennefer? I remember you saying we are sisters, do you still see us this way? Because I do. I’m not giving up on you either, so if you want to kill me too then do it because otherwise you won’t be rid of me!”</p><p>Swallowing harshly, Yennefer looked around, suddenly becoming aware of a white owl sitting in one of the trees, observing them intently. Carefully turning back to Triss, she made sure not to give anything away as she said, “come on, let’s get her to the castle before anything else happens.” At first, it looked like Triss was going to object, but as she looked down at Tissaia, she realised Yen was right.</p><p>Putting her wand back into her sleeve, she cast a quick hovering spell on her bag so it would float back to the castle on its own. Yennefer also wordlessly placed a featherlight-spell on Tissaia and took her out of Triss’ arms, asking her to lead the way with a tone that didn’t leave any room for discussion.</p><p>Triss still had enough trust for Yennefer to know that she had a reason to behave this way. It was good for Yennefer to see that, to see that the person she considered her sister didn’t lose faith in her that easily, after all. Sure, she was apprehensive, but she had just cast an unforgivable on the woman in her arms, so that was to be expected.</p><p>They made their way up to the hospital wing quickly but also quietly. Neither of them knew what to talk about, and Tissaia had her arms around Yennefer’s neck, pretending to be unconscious. Yennefer couldn’t be fooled that easily, seeing as Tissaia had the breathing pattern of someone who was very much awake.</p><p>As soon as they entered the hospital wing, the nurse, Vanielle, came to them, inquiring what had happened. Hesitantly, Yennefer explained how and why everything went down the way it did. Vanielle only nodded, sporting her usual expression of careful neutrality. Yennefer actually appreciated her for this quality, she was only here to help, not to judge.</p><p>Triss, on the other hand, went from apprehension, over to shock until she stayed on a pitying expression. It irked the raven-haired woman somewhat, as she didn’t want her friend’s pity. What she had done was irresponsible and dangerous, she could’ve killed the love of her life.</p><p>When she had said her fair share, she turned on her heels and left, knowing fully well that, had she stayed, the women would’ve talked her into staying. It took all the willpower that she had to ignore Triss and Tissaia’s pleading voices, asking her to stay.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>She ended up staying the whole week, not seeing the sense in leaving on a Monday and also wanting to make sure that Tissaia was absolutely okay. Having done to the woman what she wanted her protected off felt awful. Her conscience was eating her alive, but she’d have to live with that.</p><p>The brunette had ended up staying in the infirmary for five days, based on the unfortunate circumstance that the cut on her arm had been infected a bit. That was also Yennefer’s fault. If it hadn’t been for her, the woman would’ve neither gotten the cut, nor fallen onto the dirty path with it during her loss of control.</p><p>Feeling glad that Vanielle wanted to have her under observation longer than usual, she went about her week as though nothing was wrong. Whenever she saw Triss, she avoided certain topics and bolted whenever the woman wouldn’t let up, though.</p><p>Hurting her best friend like that hurt her, too, but she had to do it. There was only one way this whole thing was playing out, and it was by her leaving and spying on Fringilla to make sure the people she loved wouldn’t get hurt. And yet, the only way this would work would be by them actually believing that she joined Fringilla.</p><p>Telling Triss that she would keep an eye on Sabrina for her was out of the question, as was letting her know about what she had observed the evening of the incident. By now, she was a hundred percent sure that the person attacking her mind had been Philippa, sitting in a tree as an owl. It was widely known that she was an animagus, though little people ever actually noticed her being somewhere.</p><p>Saturday evening, she found herself packing again. Her mind was set on not getting sidetracked this time, though destiny seemed to have other plans. Heaving a sigh and looking out the window to make sure that there was nobody there, she wondered who was banging on her door this late at night.</p><p>Not turning around, she called for the person to enter and resumed packing. The door opened and closed more or less quietly, and she could already tell who it was by the small huff that sounded behind her. Before she could turn around or say anything, Tissaia asked in a defeated voice, “you’re kidding, right? You’re still leaving?”</p><p>Not knowing what to say, Yennefer hung her head low, massaging her temples and hoping the situation would go away on its own. It didn’t. Quite the opposite, seeing as the petite woman was crossing the room with unerring steps, coming to a stop at Yennefer’s side.</p><p>Violet eyes disbelievingly glanced up for a moment, making sure she heard the movements correct, before fully turning to the woman and looking at her incredulously. Seizing the brunette up, suddenly aware they had never stood this close to one another before, she breathlessly asked, “have you lost your mind completely? Have you already forgotten the last time you came closer to me?”</p><p>Tissaia’s ocean eyes searched her own questioningly, not the slightest hint of fear in them. It was as though she was searching for Yennefer’s last shred of sanity that she knew the woman had in her, as though she was searching for a way to reach her.</p><p>Before Yennefer could react, the smaller woman surged forward, grabbed Yennefer gently by the neck and pulled her into a gentle kiss. This was a thing Yennefer had always dreamed of, and yet she knew she could not have it. Quite frankly, she didn’t even understand why Tissaia did it.</p><p>“It wasn’t your fault, we both know you would never have hurt me like that,” Tissaia said as she desperately tried to hold onto Yennefer, who was stepping away. The raven-haired woman needed to keep her temper in check, she couldn’t afford spiralling into her thoughts, thinking that she was only doing this to manipulate her into staying.</p><p>Forcing herself to breathe deeply, she slowly turned around again. When the brunette made a move to step closer, Yen meekly raised her wand which she had picked up from her desk. This was not the time for manipulation games, and yet she couldn’t keep the love of her life away from her after <em>this.</em></p><p>“I need to leave, Tissaia. And you have to let me go, there’s no other way.” Her voice was shaky and she cursed herself for it. The headstrong woman in front of her would never believe it, not for a second.</p><p>Her words earned her an incredulous look. Tissaia completely disregarded her wand, shoved it aside even as she stepped into her personal space again, gripping onto parts of her gown as she said, “you cannot seriously believe that I will just let you leave to join this mad crusade Fringilla wants you on, Yennefer. Please, what do I need to do?”</p><p>Yennefer knew she couldn’t keep her façade up for long, so she clenched her jaw and took a moment to collect herself. Gently, she placed the palm of her hand against Tissaia’s cheek, astonished when she actually leaned into it, and softly whispered, “what I need you to do, is let me go, and leave. I’m sorry, Tissaia, but you need to let this go.”</p><p>“Yennefer please! Don’t be this way, I know I hurt you but… let me show you that life doesn’t have to be this way!” Could the woman for once just make things easy for her? Why did she have to make things so complicated?</p><p>Feeling tears welling up in her eyes, she turned and said bitterly, “no, Tissaia. You had more than fifteen years to show me that life didn’t have to be this way and all you did was shut me out. And now that I want you to leave, you won’t do it. Will you ever do anything that’s good for me?”</p><p>The huff she got as a response should’ve been expected, and yet it wasn’t. The petulance in Tissaia’s voice was also a novelty as she raised it and said, “well you never do anything that’s good for you, why should I let you leave?”</p><p>“BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO LEAVE, TISSAIA!” Yennefer hadn’t meant to scream at her. She hadn’t meant to turn around and let her see the tears streaming down her face freely now, the fire in the fireplace flaring up almost dangerously as she whipped around.</p><p>Taken aback by the reaction she got, Tissaia stared at her for a few moments. Then, swallowing harshly, she opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but thought better of it. Gazing up at her one last time, eyes heavy with sadness, Tissaia turned around and left without another word.</p><p class="Writing2">Yennefer stood there for a moment, looking at the door, tears still running down her face. Having half a mind to go after the woman, apologising for her behaviour, she found herself in front of it a second later. Yet, she couldn’t go after Tissaia, she knew it.</p><p class="Writing2">Wand in hand, she sent curses flying all around her, not caring where they hit, not that she could see the damage with tears obscuring her sight. After a while, she was totally spent, and she leant back against the door. As the situation once again registered in her brain, she slid down to the ground and hugged her legs close to her body, face burrowed in the masses of her dress as she cried herself to sleep right there, not bothering about the cold, hard floor.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>In an effort to avoid Tissaia, Yennefer skipped breakfast the next day. Knowing that Fringilla was an early bird who kept her promises, she made her way down to the school’s gates by eleven o’clock, not checking if she was being followed.</p><p>By the time she opened the gate, Fringilla had already stepped out from behind some trees just beyond the school permisses. The dark witch said, “so, you decided to join me, after all. And here I thought I’d have to take you by force.”</p><p>By force did not sound like the agreed-upon terms to Yennefer, so she was on high alert. Wondering what the woman would’ve done had she not shown up, she said in a soothing voice, “I apologise if I made you wait, some things came up that I needed to take care off.”</p><p>Stepping outside, she heard the other ask if she was ready to depart. Just as she was about to affirm that question, a scream tore through the air. Yennefer looked up and quickly realised that it had been Tissaia who had screamed ‘no’ out of nowhere.</p><p>The brunette was furious, and there was that fire in her eyes again. The same fire she had the week before when refusing to let her go. The raven-haired woman sighed inwardly, she had hoped it wouldn’t come to this. She also paled and got a few shades whiter than usual, because this was actually a pretty dangerous, considering that the woman had no practice in actual duelling.</p><p>That fact didn’t seem to bother her, however, as she started firing off curses at Fringilla, who reflected all of them. A spell hit Tissaia and she fell to the ground. It hadn’t been Fringilla’s spell, however, since it had come from behind Tissaia.</p><p>Not daring to leave Fringilla’s side for fear to make the situation worse, Yen stood by as she watched Sabrina join the two of them. The blonde looked more emotionless than ever before as she inquired in a bored voice whether they’d be leaving now or not.</p><p>Not missing a beat, Tissaia got up again, Triss now by her side, panting, and the woman yelled, “no! You will NOT leave, not with Yennefer!” At that, Fringilla chuckled darkly and stepped forward, readying her wand and asking if she was all that was stopping her from doing so.</p><p>This whole situation was stressing her out and her eyes wandered over to Sabrina briefly, wondering why she was here and not with Triss. The two of them had been getting closer for years, neither of them actually brave enough to ask the other out. Looking into Sabrina’s eyes, Yennefer cursed silently as she noticed how glossed over they were.</p><p>Sabrina was under some spell, and if she had any luck, it was not the imperius curse. Throwing a gaze at Tissaia and Triss, she silently willed them to stall while she tried to get Sabrina out from under the spell as discreetly as possible.</p><p>Invading her mind like that was easy, Yennefer thought as she simultaneously cast finite incantatem, and started talking to Sabrina, telling her to wake up. Relaying the situation would help, or so she hoped, because she didn’t have much time.</p><p>Triss and Tissaia did a well enough job at fighting Fringilla, and yet they weren’t good enough. The dark witch was a formidable duellist, a gift she would’ve clearly gotten from her father, were it really him. Of course, it wasn’t.</p><p>Between spells, Tissaia yelled, “fuck off, you stupid hag! You will NOT take the love of my life from me just because I was an idiot, you bloody whore! Over my dead body!” And damn, Yennefer wished she hadn’t said that, because now she had just given Fringilla a real target to pursue.</p><p>Fringilla didn’t feel threatened at all, and she cackled merrily as she threw up her shield. Yennefer could see her hand moving in a pattern she definitely did not like. Before the curse could be fired at Tissaia, however, the dark witch was thrown off balance by a stone that hit her head.</p><p>Completely confounded, Yennefer looked to her side, only to see that Sabrina looked absolutely furious. She invaded the blonde’s mind yet again, telling her that it was good to have her back. As an answer, Sabrina growled, “the bitch is dead for manipulating me into betraying Triss like this.”</p><p>The dark witch was angered too, however, and she knocked Sabrina to the side, apparently wanting to deal with her later. Tissaia looked at Yennefer, catching her eye for but a moment, until the raven-haired woman saw movement coming from Fringilla, hearing her cry, “crucio!”</p><p>There was no time to think. Her first instinct was protecting the woman she loved, so she threw a magical shield between the two of them. Being a master duellist herself, her shield proved to be quite effective. Effective enough to make the curse ricochet from it, redirecting it elsewhere.</p><p>Unfortunately, that elsewhere proved to be Sabrina. Tissaia and Triss looked on in shock as Sabrina screamed, Yennefer being distraught to see her friend like that. Apart from Triss, Sabrina had always been the nicest to her.</p><p>Fringilla, being a sadistic piece of shit, had turned and just accepted that her new focus was the blonde. Her flaky characteristic was something that would definitely not help her far in the whole villainy business, of that, Yennefer was sure.</p><p>She was also sure that she would not accept her friend being tortured like this, so she looked for an opening in Fringilla’s defence and, of course, found one. She wordlessly cast a knockback jinx, putting all the power into it that she possessed.</p><p>Feeling both satisfaction and a sick feeling spreading through her body, she watched as the dark witch was flung against the school’s fence. As her head collided with the metal, her skull gave off a rather nasty sound, making Yennefer believe it might actually be broken.</p><p>Gaze wandering lower, she could see one of the pointy fence decorations sticking out of Fringilla’s chest, just above where her heart should be. Logically, Yennefer knew that she was dead for sure. Still, she needed to check, because if she wasn’t, there was still danger to be dealt with.</p><p>Tissaia tried to grab her arm when she passed, asking her where she was going. Not tearing her gaze away from the woman impaled on the fence, she whispered, “I need to make sure she’s dead. I can’t risk you being in danger still.”</p><p>Stepping closer, she took in the state of the dark woman, running diagnostic spells five times. When she was satisfied that the woman was indeed as dead as can be, she conjured up a Patronus and had it deliver a message to Stregobor and the authorities.</p><p>They were looking after the little cat as it ran off and Triss turned to Yennefer, asking, “wait a second, wasn’t your Patronus a crow? And since when is yours this bright?” Cursing internally, she turned to face her friend. She didn’t quite know what to say.</p><p>“Well, Triss, what is the only reason someone’s Patronus changes, hm?” If she had been able to turn off the sarcasm, she would have. In this moment, she didn’t dare look at the woman whose Animagus form was now her Patronus.</p><p>After all these years of Tissaia acting cold, nobody could blame her for thinking she might actually go back to that behaviour. Even after admitting her feelings. As she thought about that, she was completely lost in her own minds and did not notice Tissaia actually coming closer.</p><p>A hand softly touched her arm, and she almost jumped out of her own skin. Looking at Tissaia with wide eyes, she tried to comprehend the situation. Before she really could, Tissaia grabbed her, hugged her close and whispered, “you saved us, it’s okay now. Thank you. Now please, don’t leave me!”</p><p>It took her a moment to respond to Tissaia’s hug, but when the brunette didn’t pull away, she dropped her wand and held her as tight as she could. Her eyes moved over to Triss and Sabrina. They were huddled on the floor in the same fashion. She could see Sabrina clinging to Triss, scared to let go. She wondered if Triss was as afraid as Tissaia seemed. Afraid Sabrina would simply get up and walk away.</p><p>“It’s alright now.” Yennefer felt Tissaia’s lips brush against her ears. She tried to remain calm but she could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins. The thrill of the fight. The thought of almost losing Tissaia due to her own poor decision making. She was broken out of her thoughts by Sabrina’s husky and tired voice. “So I was mentally manipulated, but Yen... you’re better than this, what brought you here?”</p><p>“Fear and loneliness, what brought me to the Dark Lord the first time, added with my own self-loathing and what I thought was unrequited love...” Yennefer shook her head. She didn’t know what to say. How could she tell them part of her hoped you would die this time, death felt better than the meaningless existence she thought she was living.</p><p>“You could have talked to me,” Sabrina uttered moving across the ground, dragging herself towards Yennefer to place a hand on hers. “We survived the first war, we could have dealt with the stares, the meaningless gestures, if only you had told me. We both could’ve avoided being vulnerable to Fringilla.”</p><p>At that, Yennefer smiled and pulled her into a brief hug. Looking deep into Sabrina’s eyes, she hoped to convey how sorry she felt before turning to the other two and saying, “I didn’t just do it because of that, though. When she first approached me, she appealed to all of those feelings. But I saw that she was dangerous, to all of us. The reason I decided to go was to spy on her, to be able to keep all of you safe. To keep Tissaia safe.”</p><p>A silence fell over them. She felt Tissaia throw her arms around her once more and hold her close. “You stupid, stupid, brave girl, don’t you ever do anything so foolhardy again.” She tightened her hold before moving away to look her in the face. “I can’t promise that I won't, I would do anything to protect you and to protect our friends.”</p><p>“I should have had more faith in you and for that, I’m truly sorry, I hope you can forgive me,” Triss spoke, a pained expression on her face as she imagined her life without Yennefer in it, without Sabrina, without Tissaia. “You don’t need to apologise, I can see how it would look to you and it isn’t like I gave much explanation.”</p><p>They stayed sitting on the cold ground until the authorities found them. She could hear Tissaia shouting at them as they grabbed at Yennefer and Sabrina, pulling them away. Apart. She knew what they were thinking. She could see it on their faces. Their assumptions at what had happened here. She knew they were presuming that she and Sabrina were at fault, that they had likely attacked Tissaia and Triss.</p><p>She went without a fight. She didn’t see the point. She knew Tissaia and Triss would be waiting for them on the other side. She just hoped the ministry listened and that Stregobor would stay true to her. Not that they could be convicted of anything when Tissaia and Triss told the Aurors that the situation had been completely different than what they were thinking. Yennefer couldn’t help remain cynical though, it’s in her nature.</p><p>She would remain with the Aurors until they would see fit to release both her and Sabrina. She hoped to return to Hogwarts after this. She hoped to return into the arms of the woman she would try every day not to disappoint. She knew this time things would be different. Her heart may still ache at the thought of wasted years but maybe they could make up for this. She would try every damn day. From shoulder kisses to finally seeing the woman’s body underneath the long dresses that Yennefer admired every day.</p><p>Her journey to her soon to be lovers arms wasn’t easy but it was worth every curse and step on the way.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>No fences were harmed in the production of this fanfiction<br/>Working with my friend was a delight, I'll have you know!<br/>If you liked the story, we'd appreciate a comment ;)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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